Written by a parent, not a doctor. Nothing here is medical advice.

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Louisiana program

Rides, meals and lodging for Medicaid appointments

Louisiana Medicaid arranges rides to covered appointments and travel help for qualifying long trips.

What it is

Louisiana Medicaid arranges rides to covered appointments and travel help for qualifying long trips.

Repeated treatment trips can cost time and money. Medicaid’s transportation service can arrange rides to covered care. Longer trips may also qualify for meals and a room for your child and one accompanying adult.

Eligibility rules
  • The broker checks distance, travel time and clinical need for any long-trip benefit. A trip lasting more than 12 hours does not by itself guarantee meals or a room; the current plan or fee-for-service office must confirm the applicable rule.
  • Nonemergency out-of-state transportation requires prior approval.
  • Travel costs already covered by an inpatient daily payment, private insurance or another payer are not paid again.
What you get
  • No family charge for approved rides to Medicaid appointments.
  • Possible meal, lodging and escort support when the specific travel benefit is approved.
What the help covers
  • The broker approves each ride, an adult traveling with your child, and any meals or a room; ask for the current amounts before you pay for anything. Gas money for driving yourself goes only to an enrolled driver living at a different address, so it usually cannot pay a parent.
If you decide to apply
  1. Ask your Medicaid health plan’s transportation broker about the appointment and any long-trip needs.
  2. Have your child’s Medicaid card, appointment dates, times and clinic address ready.
  3. For out-of-state care, ask the social worker to check both treatment approval and travel approval.

The transport broker for your Medicaid health plan · Official page ↗

After you apply
  • A confirmed trip identifies pickup arrangements and any approved escort. Louisiana Healthcare Connections allows routine reservations up to 30 days ahead and reviews specialist travel over 60 miles one way. Its gas-reimbursement option also needs driver enrollment, an advance trip number and medical-office confirmation. Other plans must confirm their own requirements.
Good to know

Urgent trips and hospital discharge have booking exceptions. The broker checks planned travel separately from treatment coverage.

Other details
  • Louisiana Healthcare Connections books routine rides at 855-369-3723, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., with a 24-hour urgent line. Some plans are leaving Louisiana Medicaid during 2026, so use the number on your child’s current card; Healthy Louisiana (855-229-6848) can tell you which plan your child is in.
Official sources
Ask your social worker

“Could Medicaid help with our appointment travel, including meals or a room on long trips? Could you explain the limits and help us arrange it if it would work?”

Why I’m asking: I want to understand what travel expenses can be covered before making arrangements.

More background and detailed requirements
Additional program information and published rules

Who does what

The three parts, side by side. The agency decides; nobody on this page does.

You

Book at least 48 business hours ahead and say if a wheelchair or a stretcher is needed.

Your social worker

The clinic scheduler can give you the appointment list far enough ahead to book.

The care team

Records and letters when the application asks for them.

Who decides
The transport broker for your Medicaid health plan.
Ask the agency
“My child is on Medicaid and has appointments at the children's hospital. Can you book the rides, and what do you pay for meals and lodging on a long trip?”

How to apply

First step: Call your Medicaid plan's ride number and book the next two weeks of appointments.

  1. Find your plan's ride number and save it in your phone today.
  2. Book Monday appointments by Thursday, because the 48 hours skip weekends.
  3. For a trip out of state, ask for transport approval separately from treatment approval.

Official application / program page ↗

Where it starts: Call the broker number for your plan at least 48 business hours before the appointment.

What to gather

  • Your Medicaid card and plan name
  • The appointment list with dates and times
  • The clinic address

How long: Booked rides need 48 business hours' notice.

What a yes looks like

A confirmed pick-up time, and a written answer about meals and lodging on long trips.

What a no looks like, and the next move

If a trip is refused, ask which rule was used and whether the long-distance route applies.

Watch out

  • The 48-hour notice skips weekends and holidays, so a Monday trip needs booking by Thursday.
  • Approval to travel out of state is not approval of the treatment itself. Ask for both.
  • The meal and lodging amounts are not published. Ask before you book a room.

Dates that change this

2026-09-01: All Louisiana Medicaid health plans use the broker MediTrans; fee-for-service uses Verida. The published numbers are Aetna 877-917-4150, AmeriHealth Caritas 888-913-0364, Healthy Blue 866-430-1101, Humana 844-613-1638, Louisiana Healthcare Connections 855-369-3723, fee-for-service 855-325-7626. UnitedHealthcare left on March 31, 2026 and Healthy Blue leaves on January 1, 2027. (not yet confirmed against the final rule)

The numbers and the rules

The arcane layer, kept on purpose. Checked September 11, 2026.

What it is worth

Rides to Medicaid appointments, plus meals and lodging for the child and one adult when a trip plus the appointment runs over twelve hours.

  • $48 — Minimum notice to book a ride
  • $12 — Total travel plus appointment time that counts as long distance

Covers: Rides to and from Medicaid appointments · Meals, lodging and related travel costs for the child and one attendant on long trips

What it costs the family: No cost to a family on Medicaid.

The eligibility facts, as published

Coverage
Louisiana Medicaid
Notice
at least 48 hours, excluding non-business days
Long distance
total travel time plus the appointment exceeding 12 hours
Attendant
the child and one attendant
Out of state
non-emergency out-of-state transport needs prior approval, which is not the same as approval of the treatment
Other payers
not paid where an inpatient per diem, primary insurance or another payer already covers it

The trap: Book at least 48 hours ahead, and those 48 hours do not count weekends or holidays. A Monday appointment needs booking by Thursday.

Where I read this

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